Jack Whitehall: Work In Progress, Bolton & Oxford

One of the sillier controversies to grip the tiny world of British comedy in recent months surrounded Jack Whitehall's decision to warm up for his tour with a show at Hammersmith Apollo and these theatre gigs. According to the naysayers, going through unfinished material in front of thousands represented the worst kind of big-time-Charlieism. But there's another side to this argument: given that Whitehall has sold out the biggest arenas in the country, how else is he supposed to prepare? In reality, it's a testament to just how big a deal Whitehall has become. In just a few years he's gone from pub gigs to stadium fame, off the back of charisma, great material and a phenomenal commitment to the hard work involved in mastering his craft. His hit BBC3 series Bad Education is poised for a potential transfer to network TV in the States and, given his success so far, it's hard to bet against him achieving great things on the other side of the Atlantic.

New Theatre, Oxford, Sat; Octagon Theatre, Bolton, Sun

Catriona Knox: Player, London

There's a big market out there for comics who can serve up warm-hearted, optimistic material with a breezy, salt-of-the-earth attitude. Look at the titanic successes of Micky Flanagan and John Bishop, selling out massive rooms several times over with exactly this sort of upbeat fare. Rob Beckett has exactly the right act to get in on that game. He's a relentlessly smiley, perpetually grinning Londoner whose unshowy, unpretentious but thoroughly funny shtick has every chance of winning him a big audience. Beckett describes himself as working-class, but this isn't a prelude to political thought or philosophising. Instead, he celebrates his rough-as background, and uses it as the platform for his charmingly take-no-bullshit view of the world, filled with soft-pedalled social satire.

Little Theatre, Leicester, Sat; Komedia, Bath, Wed

Rob Beckett: Live, Leicester & Bath

There's a growing trend for sketch groups to spawn fully formed solo performers. There's Jessica Knappett from Lady Garden, Humphrey Ker of The Penny Dreadfuls and now Catriona Knox. As one-third of The Boom Jennies, she's recorded a string of radio shows as well as plenty of acclaimed Edinburgh fringe runs. Last year, she went out on her own with Player, a raucously entertaining hour of high-volume character comedy. It's a style that can sometimes seem distancing for crowds, but that's never the case with Knox; she uses a form of audience interaction that means everyone becomes part of the show. These are characters drawn with broad strokes and primary colours rather than nuance or shades of grey, but there's nothing wrong with that; it results in an accessible show with real mainstream appeal.